Brooder



Nov 28, 1944. s. M. CRIDER 2,363,484

BROODER OriginaLFiled Sept. 15, 1942 F/GJ. w. I

Patented Nov. 28, 1944 I g omreo STATES PA ENT;--orrles 2,363,434, I v BROODEB' Stephen M. CridenCriders, Va. 1' Original application September" is, 1942, Serial No; 4589114. Divided andthis application July ";1943,'Serial.No.4 94,238. c 1

' 2plaims." (Cl.119-32) {This application is adivisio'n of -my copending v application-Serial Number 453,414; iiled September'15,1942.. I

'Th'isinvention relates to poultry brooders, and

is particularly but not necessarily concernedwith 'brooders of the type utilizing wood burning heaters.

Brooders of this type should-be capableof low 'cost pr oduction and sale; while at the same time it'is desirable that they have the advantages of the'more expensive types; and an object of the present invention is to provide a brooderwhich A furtherobje'ct ea. invention is to pr i e a 'brooder having a heater'of the wood; burning door '20 which is hinged at its upperend to said wall.

The inner side of the door is provided with a shield l8 overlying the draft opening IBWith its lower end open and serving to direct theair downwardly into the stove fromsaid draft openmg. I

. Mounted on the arm 2| is 'a lever guiding and fuel and which isunder automatic control.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become apparent in view of the following' description taken in conjunction'with the drawing, wherein: Fig. l is a transverse vertical section of a brooder embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the brooderwith the front section of the hood or hover' raised to show the front of the heater;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the control unit;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4- -4 of Fig. 3; and I Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper portion of the brooder.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the brooder is heated by a wood burning stove generally indiv cated at Hi, the stove'preferably being of cylindrical or. drum shape and made of sheet metal with front and rear end plates H and I2 secured to the opposite ends of the drum. Thedrum is also provided with legs l3 and a stack 0r chimney l4. I

Mounted in the front end of the stove is a door l5 which is provided with hinge pins II; de-

tachably engaged in hinge lugs I6. The door may be made of metal of suitable thickness and in actual practice it consists of a casting and carries a closure latch ll. The dooris formed with a draft opening l8 which on the outer side of the door is surrounded by an outwardly extending wall 19 having an upwardly inclined or beveled contour, and mounted on this wall is a damper supporting member '22 which'projects downward-- ly-and serves to support and guide a' lever 23; the latter being pivoted to said member 22'by means of pin 24. connected thereto a link 25'which detachably engages a hook 2B'connected' to th'e'd'amper 20; while'the'opposite end of the lever 23 is provided witha weight 21.

shape and the member 22 forms a restricted 1ongitudinally-extending opening in which the lever has rockingmovement.

The free end 2] of the'arm 2| isbored and threaded to, receive a screw 28 having aithermostat supporting upper end. On this upper end one or more thermostatic wafers or discs 30 are disposed, said wafers preferably being charged with a suitable expansible fluid affected by temperature changes within a range commensurate with the proper care and comfort of the chicks.

The lever 23 is provided with a downwardly projecting portion3l adapted to contact with central portion of the disc 30.

The upper end of the arm 2| is formed with a toe Zla which is detachably engaged in 2. lug

32 on the outer face of the door. When the end or toe of the arm is inserted in this lug and the arm released, it will hang in proper operating position together with the entire control assembly carried thereby.

Removably mounted on the heater orstove I0 is a hover or hood consisting of sheet metal sections, preferably four in number, and indicated at 33, 34, and 36. The side hood sections 33 and 34 are provided with bolting flanges 31 and 31 at their upper edges which at an intermediate point are oppositely recessed to fit 'around'the stack or chimney I4: The rear section-35 is detachably connected at its opposite side 'edges by bolts 38 to the adjacent edges of the sections 33 and 34; while the front section 36 is hinged as at 39 to a gusset plate 40 which spans the converging upper front edges of the Connected to the front of the door is 'anarm- The one end of the lever 23 has I I The 'lever 23 may be in the form ofa sheet metal section bent in channel side sections 33 and 34 and is connected to said latter edges. Thus, the front section may be conveniently raised as in Fig. 2 to gain access to the door l5 of the stove or the control unit mounted on the door.

The side sections 33 and 34 rest on brackets 42 and 43 which in turn rest on the top wall of the stove, to thereby give proper clearance for the hood or hover with respect to the stove.

In operation, whenever it is desired to .charge the stove with fuel, the hood section 36 may be swung upwardly and the stove charged through the door l5. The adjusting screw 28 may be set so that the thermostatic disc or discs 30 will expand and contract within a predetermined temperature range and regulate the damper 20. When the thermostatic discs 30' expand, the weighted end of the lever 23 is raised and the opposite end lowered, thereby permitting the damper to move towards closed position and retarding combustion of the fuel. When the said discs contract, the weighted end of the lever 23 islowered and the damper 20 moved towards open position, thereby increasing the draft in the -stove and accelerating combustion of the fuel.

The shield IS on the inner side of the door [5 causes a down draft into and over the fuel in the stove.

The thermostatic unit may be assembled in its entirety with respect to the supporting arm 2| and the latter then hung onto the door I5 and the link 25 connected to the hook 26. The thermostatic discs are removable and replaceable at any time desired. In certain instances, a purchaser may desire to buy the brooder and stove without the automatic control, in which event the damper 20 may be manually controlled. If at any time repairs are to be made to the control assembly or unit, the arm 2| may be easily and quickly removed, carrying the entire unit therewith. The parts may be manufactured and sold at a relatively low cost, while at the same time the advantages of automatic regulation are optionally available.

The feet of the brackets 42 and 43 extend at a substantially true radius from the peripheral wall of the stove and constitute the sole means of support for the hood or hover, note Fig. 5, thereby 5 reducing heat transfer to a minimum while at the same time providing maximum supporting strength.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that certain limited changes in construction and design of the improved brooder may be adopted without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A brooder comprising a substantially cylindrical stove member disposed with its axis in substantially horizontal position, a hover member on the stove member, means for mounting the hover member on the upper surface of the stove member comprising rest brackets between the inner side of the hover member and the upper surface of the stove member and engaging said stove member, said rest brackets being attached to one of said members and each being of angular formation with its free ends projecting from said one of the members toward the other whereby the brackets constitute spacing elements for supporting the hover member from the stove member in spaced relation.

2. In a brooder including a substantially cylin- 30 drical stove member disposed with its axis in substantially horizontal position and a hover member on the stove member, means for mounting the hover member on the upper surface of the stove member comprising rest brackets on the under side of the hover member and adapted to rest on the upper surface of the stove member, said rest brackets each being of angular formation with its free stove engaging end adapted to engage the stove surface substantially at right angles to provid minimum heat conduction between the stove'member and the hover member.

STEPHEN M. CRIDER. 

